1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the field of information handling system cooling, and more particularly to a system and method for information handling system adaptive cooling profiles.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Information handling systems are typically built from a wide variety of processing components selected to provide desired performance characteristics. For instance, information handling systems are built from one or more central processing units (CPUs) having a variety of operating speeds, from hard disk drives and random access memories having a variety of storage capacities and access speeds, and from a variety of daughter cards that provide various functions, such as network and peripheral interfaces. Generally, each of these processing components produces excess heat that is removed from the information handling system with one or more cooling fans. The size and operational characteristics of cooling fans for an information handling system depends not only upon the amount of excess heat produced by the components but also the size and shape of the chassis that houses the components and the external operating conditions, such as the external air temperature and the proximity of other information handling systems. During the design of an information handling system, these factors are taken into account to build a cooling profile that adjusts cooling fan speeds for detected operating conditions to maintain desired cooling parameters. Ideally, the cooling fan speed is adjusted to within a range that produces minimal acoustic noise that is otherwise bothersome to users.
One difficulty with setting a cooling profile to determine cooling fan speeds is that users sometimes alter the configuration of an information handling system after delivery of the system from the manufacturer. For instance, users often insert add-in cards that generate additional heat and throw off manufacturer set cooling profiles. Changes to hardware configurations are particularly troublesome where information handling systems have sensitive cooling requirements, such as in server systems that are typically operated in small spaces. For example, blade server information handling systems are often tightly packed as “blades” within a blade server rack. Each blade typically has a system manager, such as a Baseboard Management Controller (BMC), that adjusts operating constraints, such as cooling fan speeds. Insertion of additional hardware components in a blade will not only affect the cooling profile of that blade but also the cooling profiles of nearby blades. Non-optimal cooling profiles can, for instance, result in cooling fans of some blades operating at increased speeds with excessive acoustic noise while other blades have cooling fans that operate at reduced speeds that provide less effective cooling. Additionally, non-optimal cooling profiles can lead to thermal stress that reduces information handling system processing component life.